


sharpshooter

by leovaldez



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Canon-Typical Violence, Friendship, Injury, M/M, Minor Injuries, Mutual Pining, Post-The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus), Pre-The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27002893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leovaldez/pseuds/leovaldez
Summary: they indulge in some of the camp activities offered at chb, one of which is the camp war games
Relationships: Jason Grace & Leo Valdez, Jason Grace/Leo Valdez
Comments: 18
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> takes place within those 6 months between tlh (dec) and moa (late june)... the only difference is that jason doesn't actually get all his memories back lol, or at least it seems to be taking a lot longer of a time

Jason was merely lucky that Leo was on his team this time around because the guy had an insane shot, and he knew that even his flying wouldn’t be able to escape it. Leo was lying on his stomach in the bushes, eyes staring blankly through the foliage at the trail below them. In his hands was a sniper-shaped water gun filled with a Connor Stoll special: a lethal combination of curdled milk, drakon scales, pegasus pee, and lemon juice for an extra sting factor. Leo had already knocked down quite a few campers with a hit that induced much puking and a few faints.

All Jason had besides his armor was a borrowed knife and a bag of trail mix. Most cabins had their own assortment of weapons that they used in camp games like this or formed alliances like the currently shaky Hephaestus-Hermes cabins, but Jason was a cabin of one. At some point, he thought that being friends with Leo and Piper would be enough, but last week's game made Jason realize that the Aphrodite cabin was ruthless and waited for no one.

“Someone else is coming,” Jason murmured, but Leo had already shot the poor kid down with a well-executed aim to their stomach.

Jason chuckled as the kid screamed and rushed to the side of a tree, hand to their mouth. “You should give them a fighting chance, at least.”

“Mhm,” Leo grunted.

Jason pressed his lips together. Leo played a few games, good at some awful at others, but it was Jason’s fault for dragging the guy out from the bunker. He hadn’t seen his best friend in a week, and he figured the two could play together and hang out in post-victory bliss. On the other hand, Leo did not appreciate being dragged from his work and tossed into the woods. He stayed quiet because he must’ve known that would set Jason on edge, and annoying Jason was what Leo seemed to like best, second after working on his ship.

Opening the trail mix, Jason shook it at his friend. “Do you want some?”

Leo didn’t respond, firing off his gun again at another group.

“You can’t be mad at me forever,” Jason bit a mini-pretzel.

“I’m not mad,” Leo grumbled.

“You sound mad.”

“I’m not.”

“Fine,” Jason shifted into a more comfortable squat. He shook the snack bag at Leo again. “You’re pouting.”

“I am _not_ pouting,” Leo scoffed with a horrified look on his face. He glanced at the trail mix and rolled his eyes, reaching for the back. Jason raised an eyebrow. “ _Okay_ ,” Leo groaned mid-chew. “So there was a little bit of pouting. Sue me.”

“Your case is processing in court right now. The odds don’t look to be in your favor.”

Leo rolled his eyes again, smile sliding onto his face. “And you say _I’m_ the weird one.” He went back to looking down at the pathway where a few Nemesis kids were trying to cross. “You didn’t need to drag me out here, though.”

Jason watched as the stream of guck flew from Leo’s nozzle and soared across the air. One of the Nemesis kids was prepared though and flung up a shield just in time. “Everyone else is playing. I thought it would be fun.”

The leader of the kids, Damien, who was barely 14, pointed up to their hiding spot and yelled orders to GET THEM OR SMELL THE SOCKS, voice cracking at SMELL. Jason didn’t know what that meant, but he knew enough to grab Leo and start running.

“Watch it,” Leo yanked Jason’s arm just in time for a trap to trigger and a net to fly up into the high trees. The kids following them charged, bellowing loudly about smelly socks and victory. A mixture of arrows and poison-tipped Nerf bullets shot at them, with Jason sending a wave of air to push the assault away.

Jason couldn’t help but laugh. Leo looked annoyed but kept leading them away from the traps around the forest, while Jason dealt with the physical onslaught.

“Are you having fun?” Jason asked, darting past a boulder.

“You call this fun?” Leo patted away a foam bullet with his water gun. “I don’t want 13-year-olds chasing me all day.”

“Come on then,” Jason laughed and grabbed Leo’s elbow. “Going up.”

“Jason, noOOOO-” Leo’s scream echoed through the trees as they soared upward into the air. They stopped right above the leaves, Jason snickering, while Leo kicked his shins. “I hate you so much right now.” He picked out a twig from his hair and flicked at Jason.

“CHEATERS SUCK!” Damien yelled at them from below.

“CRY TO YOUR MOM ABOUT IT!” Leo yelled back.

Damien threw a sneaker at them, but it bounced into a branch and knocked into the temple of one of his sisters. She fell to the ground and some of the other kids crowded around her. Even from so high, the two of them could hear Damien’s loud cursing and plans for revenge.

Leo stuck out his tongue. “On a scale from one to ten, how concerned should we be when he said he’s cursing us to food poisoning next time we eat?”

Jason’s seen a few Nemesis kids do things like that. It was about 50-50. He told Leo that, and his best friend snorted.

“Well,” Leo grinned at him, elbowing his stomach. “At least we’ll get out of chores for a few days.”

“Hey, you’re the one who has an entire cabin to help you out,” Jason teased. “All I have is me and the giant statue of my father. Not that he’s any help.”

Leo stroked his chin in pretend thought. “I can offer you temporary Hephaestus kid status for a week if you can get us down safely. I don’t want another situation again, Mr. _I-Think-I-Can-Stand-On-Clouds_.”

“That could’ve worked,” Jason protested, laughing. “You were the one who was supposed to do the math.”

“What math?! They’re _clouds!_ It’s water vapor!” Leo exclaimed, and they both dissolved into laughter. When they were both sure that the Nemesis kids were gone, Jason lowered them into the trees. They fell along with the wood of one of the long-abandoned forts in the branches.

Camp Half-Blood was filled to the brim with all sorts of hidden spots. According to a history lesson Jason sat in once with while helping Chiron, only about half of the map was efficiently charted out and even then, certain places tended to move around due to the Labrinyth and magic. There was a reason why it was dangerous to venture out too far without a guide. 

The fort they settled in had a small platform before leading into a tiny hut. Despite being so high, there wasn’t any railing, and the remains of the ladder were shredded halfway up. 

“We’re a bit off from the trail,” Jason pointed. “See the brook? The finish line is about a couple meters west.”

“West?”

“Our left.”

“I know what west is,” Leo elbowed Jason. There was only enough room for the two of them to sit side-by-side, feet dangling over the edge. Luckily, the remnants of the fort were high enough in the trees to keep them covered. “But how do you know where it is? Got some kinda internal compass? Global-positioning-Jason?”

“Oh,” he shrugged. “I just know. It’s a wind power, I think.”

“Hmm,” Leo sat his gun in his lap. “You got any more of those?”

“Of what?”

“You’re killing me here,” Leo elbowed him again. “Hidden wind powers you’re figuring out. Big daddy in the skies must’ve given you something cool.”

Jason groaned. “Do _not_ call him that.”

“I’m just saying,” Leo snickered, “there’s got to be something good you have.”

“I don’t know,” Jason then winced. “I can’t remember.”

Leo sucked in a breath. “Stolen memory things?”

“Yup.”

“Ugh,” Leo bumped his shoulder against Jason’s. “You’ll get them all back one day.” His fingers drummed across the water gun barrel. “And we’re making memories now, aren’t we?”

Jason got what Leo said, but he also would like to get his own memories back regardless. Leo and Piper were both weird about Jason’s memories because they were all unsure how to help him. But it’s not like Jason was broken. He just knew that somethings were missing that would slowly come to him at their own speed. It was very frustrating, no matter what. Still, the sentiment was very nice at the moment.

“Yeah,” Jason smiled at him. “I like making new memories with you. And Piper, of course.”

“You’re like nachos with all this cheese you’re laying down on me,” Leo whined, but his tone was light and playful. Leo’s hands stilled, and his fingers widened out in his lap. “Thanks for dragging me out B9 earlier. It’s fun seeing my siblings get competitive over something that isn’t about a drill bit.”

It was Jason’s turn to now bump his shoulder. “No problem. I like playing these games with you.”

Leo’s face screwed up, and he looked away, the air temperature rising around by half a degree. “Yeah, yeah,” Leo mumbled. “I was getting a headache from all that planning already.”

“How is the Argo, by the way?”

“Slow,” Leo admitted. He looked irritated, and his hands started moving again. “Too slow.”

Jason reached out, placing his own hand over Leo’s moving ones. Leo froze and tensed. “Hey. These things take time. Like my memories, right? I can’t be sure that it’s all going to be okay, but I can wait and trust that it will be.”

“Not the same,” Leo murmured. His shoulders slumped over, and he wiped his face. Then leaned back and stretched wildly, reaching for his gun. “Thanks, though.”

“No problem,” Jason said earnestly. They looked at each other for a few moments, both analyzing each other’s movements and deciphering the other until they both looked away with warm faces.

“Well, then!” Leo announced much louder than he needed to. Jason was okay with the distraction. “I think I see a few Dionysus dudes nearing the finish line that we can take out. Wanna drop down and clear the path? I think there are seven minutes left, and we win if no one from the other team passes the mark.”

“I like winning.” Jason grinned.

“As do I,” Leo’s expression mirrored his. He offered his arm. “Take us down! And no funny business.”

Jason laughed. “Whatever you say, Leo. Elevator Jason, destination: ground floor!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is actually about the more subtle powers that jason and leo have, that aren't the blatant fire or lighting blasts haha.... here jason has good sense of direction, and leo has perfect aim


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unlike my last vg fic (the uhhhh football one?) jason's crush is slower to develop
> 
> I'm telling you, they're so smart but I swear they are both the dumbest most reckless people ever

This time, Jason was surprised to find Leo at the start line with his cabin. Based on where they were standing, Piper’s cabin and Leo’s cabin were on the same team for this game, but Jason’s lone wolf cabin allegiance was up to him. Naturally, with Jason’s luck, he had already chosen the opposite team.

“Hey,” Jason stepped up to where Leo was tying his shoes. “You came out the bunker.”

Leo was wearing the typical bronze chest plate and his usual toolbelt. His hair was covered in ash, head bent down to the ground. “Yep. Harley and Shane threatened to blast me with liquid nitro if I didn’t come out.”

“We have that here?”

“Duh. What part of _magical camp that shouldn’t exist_ are you forgetting?” Leo stood up. He grinned at Jason, “I heard we’re enemies now, right?”

“I’m not going to go easy on you,” Jason teased. “You’ll have to beg for it.”

“Me? Begging?” Leo laughed. “See you on the battlefield, champ. Watch out for traps.” He headed off towards his cabin’s position behind the starting line. There Leo’s cabin group huddled for a few moments before erupting into loud shouts.

Jason smiled, slipping on his helmet. It was nice to see his friends were adapting well to the camp. Piper eased into her position as head counselor reasonably smoothly, but Leo hadn’t taken part in many of the camp activities the other two did. While Jason was sure building the Argo was fun for the Vulcan cabin, it wasn’t the same as facing monsters and other teams.

A trumpet blew, and Leo and Piper’s team rushed off into the wilderness. Jason stayed back, eyeing the slowly sinking sun and excitement of his team. The Minerva cabin was particularly antsy. Annabeth was talking to some of her siblings. They were going over battle plans like this was the next demigod war and not a camp game.

Jason didn’t know what Leo was talking about when he said _Watch out for traps_ , until the second trumpet blew a few minutes later, and he took a single step before falling on his face. Jason rolled over onto his back, looking down at his shoes, which had been laced together and triple knotted. Over the clashing of armor and roaring of chants from the various cabins, Jason swore he could pick out Leo’s distinct gleeful giggles amongst the trees.

He grinned. So that’s how it is.

* * *

From what Jason could tell, the game they were playing was essentially hide-and-seek but with monsters trying to kill campers and other campers trying to kill other campers. One of the problems with how Camp Half-Blood decided to play games was that it was assumed everyone knew how to play, and thus there weren’t really any instructions or rules except DON’T DIE.

Jason freaking loved it.

After being targeted by a few suspicious paintballs triggered by his running, Jason was safe to assume that he was supposed to be on the seeking team. This made a lot more sense when he realized that the other team had been given extra time to run into the woods and set up traps. Jason fell into hunting mode like it was a mere switch in his head.

His memories hadn’t totally kicked in, but some part of this was familiar. He expertly knew how to become one with nature and be quiet. Jason’s breath slowed down, and he honed in on the sounds around him. It was easy to tell when there were people nearby. For instance, the Apollo kids didn’t care if anyone heard them, as most of them weren’t that into the current game.

The trouble with Jason was that he didn’t know where these skills came from. Jason knew about Lupa, but this couldn’t have been a Wolf House thing. An SPQR thing instead? He doubted it.

Because he was in touch with the noises around him, he knew Piper was there before she knew he was. She bumped into him and screamed until Jason clapped a hand around her mouth.

Piper ripped away, spinning and holding a knife to him. “ _Jeez,_ Jason! I didn’t even know you were there. That was freaky.”

Jason shrugged. “Got you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Piper sat down on one of the fallen logs. It was getting dark, and the woods slowly were illuminated by lanterns and strange pulsing lights, about the size of Jason’s fists. They mimicked the fireflies and danced through the leaves. Piper paid no attention and reached to the water bottle slung at her hip. “The rest of my cabin have a bet going on with the Hypnos kids, so you’ll have a harder time finding them.”

“What’s the bet?”

“Something about good dreams for a week,” Piper told him. “One of the younger kids is having a bad spout of nightmares, and it’s waking everyone up,” Piper offered Jason some water, and when he passed, she tilted her head back. “Poor guy just wants a break.”

“Sounds rough.”

“I’m normally awake anyway, so I sing him a song, and he sleeps like a baby,” Piper said. She looked down at the ground, digging her toes into a mound of grass.

Jason nodded. He didn’t know how to have one of these talks, but he figured sitting was better than standing over her. Sitting down on the ground in front of her, Jason peeled off his helmet. “Are you still having nightmares that keep you up?”

Piper didn’t answer for a while until she sighed. “Yep. No more dad nightmares, though, so that’s good.”

“What _do_ you dream of then?”

Piper bit her lip. “It’s hard to say. Sometimes I’m drowning, sometimes I’m stuck in quicksand and can’t move. There’s a lot of fire and rain going on.”

“Fire and rain?” Jason thought out loud. “Think it has something to do with the prophecy? _To storm or fire_?”

“Probably. I just don’t know what it has to do with me,” Piper sighed again. Her foot kicked over a large chunk of dirt, and she stilled her legs. Jason glanced at the rips in her jeans and the orange camp shirt peeking under her armor. On her wrist was a woven friendship bracelet, one mirroring the one Jason knew to be on Leo’s arm.

Supposedly, there was some bracelet out there for him too.

“We’ll figure it out,” Jason told her. “It must mean something if you’re getting dreams about it.”

“Maybe,” Piper rubbed her arms and dropped them in your lap. She looked at him, a glowing light passing by her face. “How are you, Jason? Are you getting any dreams too?”

“Can’t say that I am,” Jason admitted. “Most of mine are my mind replaying memories that I recall earlier.”

“Your memories haven’t come back?”

“Not entirely. It’s like someone zapped the VCR in my head, and half of the tapes are screwed. There’s a bunch of chunks missing that I’m hoping will come back at some point.”

Piper gave him a reassuring smile. “You’ll get them back soon.”

It was getting to the point where Jason heard those words so much from everyone that he started to believe that he’d never get his memories back. Already early January and Jason’s blanks seem as blank as ever, and his dreams will be a constant repeat of MEMORY, SKIP A SCENE, MEMORY REWIND, SKIP, FAST FORWARD, PAUSE. There weren’t some magic remote or batteries that Jason could find to fix it, and his daily prayers did nothing but make him feel unheard.

It angered him, actually, that Jason could do nothing but blame Juno for taking his memories, giving them all back for a blissful twenty minutes, before causing his death and thus creating this issue of REWIND and SKIP. Jason had a feeling that this familiar anger was deep-rooted from something else, but even more frustratingly, the source was lost in his blanks.

“I’m going to head back to the hot cocoa,” Piper said, standing up and brushing off her jeans. “If you’re going to find Leo, you might have to watch your step.”

“I figured that out earlier,” Jason rechecked his sneakers, relieved that Piper wasn’t as quick and sneaky as Leo. He stood as well and carried his helmet in his arms. “Got any tips to finding him?”

Piper laughed. “I think if I told you, the years-long alliance between my cabin and his would be quickly eradicated.”

“And what about my cabin and yours?”

“Since when did we have an alliance, Jason?” Piper’s laughter lingered in Jason’s ears as she jogged back toward the safe zone.

Left alone, Jason listened out for any other noises he could decipher. His own team, or at least the Bacchus and Fortuna kids, were pretty vocal about every person they tagged, but it wasn’t as loud as the screams from traps and occasional monster howls. He couldn’t, however, find the typical Leo-ness Jason usually was aware of.

Jason figured he could wait out on his other best friend and went for the group of unclaimed kids hiding in the trees a few meters away.

* * *

Camp Half-Blood dissolved the curfew on Fridays for nights like these where the camp games didn’t seem to end. Jason could tell it was well into the night, and he inched deeper into the woods. The trees shifted into unfamiliar territory, and they arched high into the air. The smell was different too, more earthy and rich in thick forestry.

From his tracking skills, there weren’t too many people over on this side, maybe three or four distinct profiles he could discern, but Jason was safe to assume that about half of them had been caught already. And it seemed the further he got away from the usual noise, the more sure he was that Leo had totally gone all out and booby-trapped the heck out of this place.

Jason decided to walk because he figured Leo would think he would fly. Unless the guy planned for that, and in that case, the ground was covered, but the sky was free. Unless Leo _thought_ Jason would assume that and so _actually_ —

It took a while for Jason to realize he was overthinking it, and the most Leo thing of all was not even having a trap in the first place. And then Jason took a few steps and was flung into a tree.

The net that caught him was strong. Jason wasn’t really uncomfortable from where he dangled, and because Leo started laughing as he crawled from a bush, Jason relaxed.

“You suck,” he said.

“I know,” Leo laughed harder. He pointed a remote at Jason, and the net lowered until Jason was barely touching the ground. “I kinda hate you for not being better at this. Chris and Bex wanted to test out their Super Bone-crusher thing. It’s only a few feet away if you want.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“It is. Really proud of them for that one.”

Jason looped his fingers around the netting, swinging his body to and from Leo. Leo seemed amused and did nothing to stop him. It was hard to see from lack of light, but the little firefly things helped a bit. “Are you having fun?”

“What is up with you and asking people if they’re having fun?” Leo gleefully rubbed his hands together. “But yeah. Caught a few other people in traps. They’ll be fine, I think.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be hiding?”

“Aren’t you supposed to try to escape and capture me?”

“Um,” Jason tugged at the net. “Do you _want_ a chase? I can chase you if you want.”

“I don’t know,” Leo grabbed the net, so Jason stopped swinging. His grin was so broad that Jason wanted to grin just like that so he could feel whatever endorphins Leo was feeling. “You’re way easier to deal with when you’re stuck here.”

Jason wiggled his fingers through the holes to touch Leo’s hand. “Got you anyway.”

“So you did,” Leo pressed a button with the remote in his other hand. Jason’s net dropped, but he caught himself and floated a few inches anyway. He hooked his helmet in his arm and nodded at Leo.

“Where’s your helmet?”

Leo was still only wearing his breast piece and toolbelt. He patted at his curly hair. “No way, man. Have you seen your head? These locks were not made for helmet hair.”

Jason stepped to the ground. “I don’t have helmet hair.”

“Yeah, you do,” Leo dipped his fingers into his toolbelt. They curled out and were covered in what Jason can only hope was gel. “C’mere, and let me fix it for you.”

Because Jason was taller, he had to bend his head low for Leo to reach. He stared at the way Leo’s toes tapped to a beat only Leo heard and the way Leo’s moles moved along the side of his neck. His skin looked really nice under the glistening of his armor, Jason off-handedly noted in the back of his mind. Leo also smelled good—well, he smelled like he had taken a shower, and thus he smelled like the diluted strawberry-scented soap in CHB’s communal bathrooms.

“There,” Leo wiped a gel-sticky hand on Jason’s arm. “You look like a model, thanks to me.”

Jason patted at his hair. “You spiked it up like I’m from the 90s.”

The son of Vulcan gasped. “I would never. I made you runway ready.”

“Let’s see,” Jason rubbed off the gel from his arm and grabbed Leo’s hair before he could run away. “Here we go now.” He spiked it up in a similar fashion, but because Leo’s hair was longer and he had less gel, Jason had to settle for slicking it back the best he could. It was ridiculous, but so was his own hair, and Leo kept squirming away the entire time.

“Not the hair!” Leo pulled back. He touched his head like it was a newborn baby and cringed. “If I look like one of my uncles right now, you’re _so_ dead. You never mess with a bro’s hair.”

“You touched mine first.”

“Doesn’t count!” Leo said. He glanced at his wrist where a ridiculously jumbo watch clicked away. “Since you caught me, I _suppose_ I’ll let you take me back.” Leo waved Jason along. “Ladies first.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Thanks—” and he was launched into the trees once again, Leo’s outrageous laughing making Jason grow red.

He was dropped again, and they trekked through the forest at Jason’s guide. Leo pointed out any traps that Jason would trigger and stepped up to disabled the ones he couldn’t get a clearer sense of. Jason didn’t really like how Leo threw himself in danger to protect him like that, but he held his tongue.

“How do you know where they are?” Jason asked. Leo had done something similar when they were at Midas’ mansion, but neither talked about it.

Leo threw a rock at a pile of leaves, and the leaves dropped down what looked to be a bottomless hole filled with paint. “I just do.” Leo rubbed his hands together, wires pushing and twirling around each other. “My dad, like, helps me hear machines, right? They sound and feel like living things to me and my sibs. So I can feel them nearby.” They passed by a slow stream, where naiads giggled and waved. Leo smirked back, and they dived under the water in shrieks, but he didn’t seem too affected.

“And then other things are just obvious. Better sense of what doesn’t belong and what seems off in the area. Not as good as Hermes kids, though, but pretty good. One of my sisters has this idea that we’re better with traps because of some weird thing our dad did to trap Hera, and like, Piper’s mom and stuff. He’s a total shady guy.” Leo glanced at the sky. “He’s probably watching right now too. He’s weird like that.”

Jason’s dad probably wasn’t watching him. It seemed silly to be jealous over a small thing, but he couldn’t help it. Going through his mental VCR, Jason couldn’t recall any times he’s seen his dad. SKIP. REWIND. FAST FORWARD. It was the worst blank for him to have.

Leo pulled a flashlight from his toolbelt and handed it to Jason. It sounded like the game had ended a bit ago, and they headed to the sounds of campfire singing and the smell of chocolate.

They chattered about little things. Jason spent most of his days wandering without a solid schedule, mostly hanging out with the Aphrodite cabin or the occasional walking around with Chiron. He knew the names of most of the people at camp right now, as it was hard to _not_ know the only Roman demigod in the area.

Outside of his cabin, Leo didn’t talk to many others. He was pretty acquainted with the Stolls, though, and he bubbled with excitement as he spoke about their next big prank. Briefly, Jason wondered how excited Leo was to chat about _him_. The thought made him nervous, and he ducked his head to avoid Leo’s explosiveness.

Because Jason was thinking about this and wasn’t watching where he was going, he missed a step and flipped into a trap that Leo was in the middle of disabling. Leo shouted at him, but the half-undone claw yanked at Jason’s arm and swiftly _pulled_. The pop of his shoulder surprised Jason as much as it did Leo, and Jason’s dislocated arm swung between them.

Leo reacted first by frantically pulling at the clamp around Jason’s wrist. The son of Jupiter cursed and groaned at the pain as he kicked at the coils by his feet. Once Leo got the clamp away, Jason shuddered to the ground, moaning when his arm hit the dirt, and pain shot through him again.

“Jason?” Leo’s worried face came to view. “Do you want me to get help or pop it back in.”

“Do you know how to?” Jason grunted.

Leo nodded. “Did it twice. You’ll just need something.” Leo then shoved a rag into Jason’s mouth from his toolbelt. “Sorry,” Leo winced. “But I’ll do it on three.” He gripped Jason’s arm and guided it.

“One.” Leo snapped the shoulder into place, and Jason bit down into the rag, muffling his scream. It was dirty. The oil squirted into his mouth, and it reminded him of the rag Piper had been given when Jason set her ankle in Monocle’s Motors. It reminded him of Reyna setting his other shoulder in Beverly Hills with a swift moment. It reminded him of the rag that Octavian and him frantically wiped up blood with, and it reminded him of the time Gwen tended to Jason’s dislocated jaw. It reminded him of Leo spending his nights building the Argo until Jason slipped in and moved a passed out Leo to a mat.

With that, Jason’s memories of Reyna, Octavian, and Gwen slipped into place, and Jason spat out the rag and oil. He rolled his neck, brushing the underside of his jaw where he can feel the feather tip fingers of Gwen ghosting across him.

“You okay?” Leo asked, concerned.

Jason hit REWIND, and his memories of Reyna handing him water overplayed with his vision of Leo giving him ambrosia. Jason took it, and the taste was still the familiar brownies from New Rome, except there was an ingredient missing, like the gaining of his memories snatched another part of him away.

But still, there were gaps, and Jason could not recall _who_ had thrown him into a wall, leading Reyna’s medical procedure, and Jason could not recall _why_ he and Octavian were cleaning blood, nor whose was it, and Jason could not recall in the slightest _how_ he had dislocated his jaw, nor what Gwen’s sweet words were to soothe him. Every part he gained was satisfying but lead to more SKIPs and FASTFORWARDs.

After that, Leo was quiet as they continued back to the camp. He rolled Jason’s arm in a make-shift sling and disabled the rest of the traps quickly and silently. Jason spent his time trying to remember what he gained.

“Hey.” Jason stopped walking, something occurring to him. “Me falling wasn’t your fault. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Jason,” Leo couldn’t look at him. His fingers laid still at his sides. “I should’ve told you to watch your step or pulled you back.”

Jason shook his head. “I was distracted. We’re fine, Leo. It’s all on me.”

When Leo didn’t say anything else, Jason puffed up his cheeks and playfully blew air at Leo. It was... a lot more than he had been expecting, though, and Leo was sent flying back a few meters. His flashlight was tossed into the woods, the light spinning away.

Leo yelled at him from where he hit a tree and dropped into a bush. “What was THAT for?”

“Okay, that was definitely my fault,” Jason jogged by him and offered a hand. Leo took it, and Jason pulled him up. Leo gave him a bewildered look.

“Are you _trying_ to kill me?” Leo’s voice squeaked. Jason worriedly looked over him, but outside of a few stray branches, he seemed fine. Leo brushed his clothes off, looked at Jason, and then lifted his chin and hurried away. _Oh_ , Jason thought. He’s just dramatic.

That’s what Jason _had_ thought until he saw Leo stumble on his side and fall into another bush. Jason called out and ran to his friend. Leo looked up at him, blinking, and Jason peered down on him, unsure if this was an emergency.

“Dude,” Leo groaned and fell back. Jason stared at the trampled flowers curling around his friend and the magic lights drifting past him. He was worried, of course, but something else crept up too. Jason’s memory was a video, and it was recording everything. Leo clutched his skull. “My head hurts.”

“Are you—”

“I swear, if you’re asking me if I’m okay, I’m going to start swinging.” Jason crouched down in front of Leo and pulled him up to his knees by his arms. He bent Leo’s head forward, ignoring the whining, to check for any blood. He must’ve blown Leo into the tree harder than he thought.

He slipped his one good hand under Leo’s jaw, tilting his head around just in case. This was another instance in which Jason knew how to tackle a situation, but he could not for the life of him, place where these instructions came from.

“Jaaaason, are you...” Leo trailed off, and Jason pulled back to find Leo staring at him with an irritated look. One of those light things floated in between their face, and in the warm glow, Jason tried not to think about his best friend in the way his mind was currently rolling. But it was too late, and Leo’s look of annoyance slipped into confusion at the same time as Jason’s feelings flipped. Jason’s eyes moved from Leo’s frown up to his eyes.

They were very warm brown, but they were also starting to dilate like crazy.

“You might have a concussion,” Jason told him. “This is why we wear helmets.” He took his own and pulled it over Leo’s head. It was a little big, but Jason thought Leo looked fine in his armor.

“ _Huh?_ Oh.” Leo then coughed and looked anywhere but Jason, who dropped his hand and blushed to himself. “Do you want to meet with my cabin first or visit the medic bay?”

“We can stop by the medic bay first.” They stood up together. Jason probably would’ve offered to carry Leo, but he was worried about his arm getting worse. Not that it really mattered to him, but Leo seemed to be too embarrassed to entertain that notion. Which made Jason embarrassed for even suggesting it in the first place.

Instead, they leaned on each other and headed back. For the most part, they were able to get back into the camp without interruption, with the exception of an angry dryad chasing them around for Leo hitting her tree earlier and Jason blowing away her leaves.

By the time they got to the medic bay with the rest of the injured campers from the game (“the fatalities,” Leo mourned, despite no one dying), they were both covered in twigs and dirt. They waited in the midst of the injured, sticking together until they could be checked out.

The process was sloppy in Jason’s opinion, but it gave him time to catch up with Leo some more. The fact that he needed to “catch-up” felt ridiculous considering they were best friends who lived in the same camp, but he used up as much time as he could gather. Leo wasn’t as talkative as he usually was, probably due to the concussion, so Jason spoke more about what he was doing in camp.

It came to a lull, where Jason didn’t really have anything to say, and Leo struggled to keep his head up. They were sitting outside the Big House in the grass, waiting for the next Apollo kid to come to their side. Leo slumped forward, and Jason moved him so Leo’s head rested on Jason’s shoulder instead. Leo had long taken off the helmet, and it sat on his lap, the gold glittering under the lights from inside the Big House.

“You’re good here,” Leo finally said.

“Hmm?”

It took a moment. “Umm, you’re uh, good here? Like, at camp. Here? You’re having fun.”

“Oh. I didn’t think about it like that.”

“I like it when you have fun.” Leo groaned into the strap of Jason’s armor. “Uhhhh, you should focus on yourself.”

Jason considered that ironic considering Leo’s someone who works in Bunker Nine at all hours of the day, but he didn’t say anything. A meek-looking Mercury girl collected them together and checked over their injuries.

With ambrosia, it wasn’t that bad. They probably could’ve taken some from Leo’s toolbelt, but they both hesitated if that was the wrong action. Apparently, it wasn’t, and the girl just shoved a piece into their mouths and told them to rest after joining at the campfire.

If he had to take a wild guess, she _probably_ wasn’t a certified medic. A Mercury kid was an odd choice for a caretaker, but he guessed it was probably just a passion of the girl’s or it was to pick up the shortage of Apollo kids getting ready for the campfire. The Apollo cabin sure was busy.

Jason eyed Leo drinking water and talking to one of his brothers about repairs. It wasn’t _just_ the Apollo cabin—all the cabins had plans after games like these, and Jason typically roamed around and drifted around the camp like he did in the day. Piper’s cabin was usually responsible for helping with injuries and cleaning up after the campfire. Jason tried helping them a few times but decided the incessant chatter overpowered Piper’s pleading.

Leo typically missed games, so he was often in the bunker, so Jason would pop by to spend time with the guy. But on days where Leo got irritated by him and kicked him out, Jason would wander the camp in search of something to do. Once, Annabeth said he was moping, but a quick retort from one of her siblings of _Yeah, you would know that, Miss Where’s My Boyfriend_ squashed that conversation instantly. It only solidified that Annabeth was terrifying at times (but also she missed Percy) and told Jason that he was bored and lonely.

This is why it was it could not leave his mind that Leo had said in his drowsy state: _You’re having fun_. All things considered, at that moment, even as his shoulder ached and Leo’s head was heavier than he thought, and he smelled like crap, Jason could say he _was_ having fun.

Of course, he was. Jason never really felt lonely or bored when he hung out with Leo. Sure, they annoyed each other at times, and both needed space, but Jason loved his best friend.

Jason looked over to the cot where Leo had occupied a few minutes ago, only to find it empty. The Mercury girl hurried in with someone else and gave Jason a look that probably meant _Why are YOU still here?_ Jason glanced at Leo’s empty cot, and he couldn’t help but ache. Which felt silly, so he left, and Leo was standing outside the Big House for him.

“Hey,” Leo was still wearing his armor, and one of the twigs was tucked behind his ear. He held two mugs of hot cocoa, holding out one for Jason.

“Hey,” Jason accepted it with a grin.

Leo rubbed his head nervously and gave out a laugh. Jason didn’t know why the boy was nervous, but it must’ve been spreading to him in the form of butterflies. It was just Jason, and it was only Leo.

Jason’s arm was still in the make-shift sling, but it had been structured for better support, and he gripped the mug handle with ease. His other arm swung at his side, his hand feeling for something that didn’t exist. Leo glanced at the movement, and Jason saw his fingers stretch out and tap his thigh.

They might’ve been thinking the same thing, but it didn’t seem like either of them was going to do it. It couldn’t have been more than ten seconds until Leo shifted his weight onto one foot and grabbed Jason’s sleeve, face devoid of any reaction but a plastered grin.

“Come on,” he told Jason. “Let’s get to this stupid campfire, and then afterward, you can see all the cool things _I’ve_ been doing lately.”

“You mean the drool on your blueprints?”

“Yes, Jason! I am excited to show you my drool.” Leo snorted, and his laughter melted into the air as he pulled Jason along. Jason was pretty close to burning himself from his drink, but he didn’t really care, as he couldn’t stop grinning.

When Leo’s hand slid from his sleeve down to his hand, he couldn’t exactly disagree. Leo wouldn’t really look at him without being too loud, and Jason couldn’t really do much either. He just hoped this wasn’t going to be one of those memories to be yanked away in the future. To the best he could, Jason mentally went PAUSE and took it all in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "unlike my last vg fic (the uhhhh football one?) jason's crush is slower to develop"
> 
> so that was the plan, and it was a lie 😭😭😭, anyway it's been a while since I stayed up late just to post vg 💕 this time I WILL respond to all the comments like I used to hehe. unedited, but it's good for the most part! <3
> 
> [this fic is actually about the more subtle powers that jason and leo have, that aren't the blatant fire or lighting blasts haha.... here jason can sense his surroundings via air movements and sound waves, and leo can feel machines and easily disable traps]

**Author's Note:**

> leave thoughts here or talk to me at my tumble @[bunkernine](https://bunkernine.tumblr.com/)


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